Questions and Answers

FOLA is a healthcare marketplace for Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. You browse practices, locums, home care, Care Travel partners and medical suppliers, shortlist the ones you want, send one request, and the FOLA office introduces you on WhatsApp.

Fola is Setswana for to heal. Go fola means to get well. That is why FOLA calls itself The Healing Marketplace.

No. FOLA is a marketplace, not a medical practitioner. It refers you to the professionals. The practice, practitioner or provider you choose is responsible for your care, advice and treatment.

Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Use the country picker at the top of any page to see one country only.

FOLA is owned by Cabanga Africa Group and was built by Cabanga Platforms.

Nobody on the site. Contact details are never published. The FOLA office introduces you to the listings you chose, and contact details pass only at that introduction.

No. Patients never post publicly. A care request goes privately to the FOLA office and reaches only the practices you shortlisted.

No. There are no accounts and no passwords. You confirm each request with a six digit code sent to your email.

No. FOLA collects admin details only, such as your name, dates and what you need. Your medical records go to the provider you choose, not to FOLA.

Post not confirmed means the person behind a listing has not confirmed their email yet, or it is a sample listing. Genuine post means they have. Verified by FOLA means a person at FOLA has also checked it against the register and the evidence supplied.

Company registration, approval from the country's medicines and devices regulator for the categories sold, an import licence, and an export licence for any supplier delivering across a border.

No. Payment never changes a mark. Sponsored placements are always labelled Sponsored, separately.

No. Browsing, shortlisting and asking for an introduction are free for patients. You pay the provider directly for their service.

USD 28 a year, one flat fee for the listing. FOLA never charges or pays anything per patient.

USD 150 a year to list, plus a commission on every order won through FOLA. If you would rather not pay upfront, the listing fee is taken from your first order instead, at USD 300.

A locum is a registered doctor, dentist, nurse or other professional who covers a practice for a while, when the regular person is on leave, ill or away.

Browse locums, shortlist the ones who suit your dates, send one request, and the FOLA office introduces you. You agree the cover and the pay directly with the locum.

Carers and nurses who visit or live in to look after someone at home, such as after a hospital stay or in older age. FOLA introduces families to providers; the provider does the care.

Help with planned care in another city or country. A FOLA coordinator lines up providers, dates and travel partners so you can focus on getting well. It is admin only, never medical advice.

Patient transport and recovery stays near the main hospitals. They list on FOLA and are introduced to travellers the same way as every other listing.

Supply needs posted by practices, such as gloves or an equipment service. The practice name stays private. Listed suppliers put themselves forward and FOLA makes the introduction.

Only listed suppliers can put themselves forward. Anyone can read the requests, so a supplier who is not listed can see the work going to someone else.

No. Prescription medicines and pharmacies are outside FOLA. Equipment, consumables and services only.